Celebrated Marcial De Gomar Emerald Collection To Be Sold At Auction Today

Manuel Marcial de Gomar began his search for Colombian emeralds in 1955 at the age of 19 and has never stopped. As a trader of these rare gems, this specialty has served him well as a consultant, an expert witness and a collector. It’s the latter skill that will bring people to the Americas Society building in New York to bid on what is almost unanimously considered to be the most valuable private collection of Colombian emeralds in existence.

The emeralds and emerald jewels in approximately 25 lots that are part of "The Marcial de Gomar Collection" include gems that Marcial de Gomar discovered himself, jewels he created and emeralds and emerald jewels from the shipwrecked Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. Recovered by Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter brought on Marcial de Gomar as a consultant for the emeralds and emerald jewels discovered and paid him with some of the treasure.

The Empress of Spain necklace made of 18k and 14k gold features a 9.48 carat teardrop cabochon emerald and five smaller briolette teardrop emeralds, framed by 74 round brilliant diamonds and three tapered baguette diamonds, plus 60 round brilliant diamonds. The chain further includes 120 prong set round cut emeralds, finishing with an oval cabochon Colombian cat’s eye emerald of 2.03 carats set in an 18k white gold clasp and framed by 16 round brilliant diamonds. It was created by Marcial de Gomar inspired by Spanish and Native American artAnthony DeMarco

Featured lots include:

887-carat “La Gloria,” the fourth largest known rough Colombian emerald from the Muzo mine.Anthony DeMarco

The 887-carat “La Gloria,” the fourth largest known rough Colombian emerald from the Muzo mine. Its estimate is $3 million - $5 million.

A matched pair of emeralds featuring the extremely rare cat’s eye emeralds, with a total weight of 74.52 carats. They were cut from a single 370-carat trapiche emerald (an emerald with rare six point radial pattern) and are believed to be the largest matched pair of Colombian cat’s eye emeralds in the worldAnthony DeMarco

The newest addition to the auction is a matched pair of emeralds featuring the extremely rare cat’s eye emeralds, with a total weight of 74.52 carats. They were cut from a single 370-carat trapiche emerald (an emerald with rare six point radial pattern) and are believed to be the largest matched pair of Colombian cat’s eye emeralds in the world. Their combined estimate is nearly $2 million.

The Marcial de Gomar Star, the largest of only 11 star emeralds known to exist and perhaps the first of its kind as a double-sided star emerald, according to the auction house. Its estimate is $2 million - $3 million.

With a combined weight of 95.51 carats, the Tears of Fura is an extremely large and well-matched pair of fine teardrop shaped Colombian emeralds from Muzo mines. They have a combined estimate of $3 million - $4 million.

Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey’s auction house, which is hosting the sale, said no matter how they were acquired, all of the emeralds in the sale are from the famed Muzo mines in Colombia, known for producing the highest quality emeralds in the world.

“Interestingly, both the emeralds he acquired separately and the Atocha emeralds were from the Muzo mines so whether they came from the 20th Century or were discovered in the 17th Century, hundreds of years apart, they all come from the same source,” he said.

Other items in the 40-lot sale include gold and silver coins from various shipwrecks, a 22-carat conch pearl and an 86-carat North American red beryl.

The emeralds and other valuables stored inside a metal container in a bank vault.Anthony DeMarco

I met Ettinger a few days ago in a bank vault where the emeralds were being held to get a firsthand look at some of the gems. The valuables were stored inside a nondescript metal container with each iinside an individual cloth bags. Lighting wasn’t great but the rough gems gave off an icy-green glow and the jewels created by the collector combined traditional Spanish and Native-American design techniques.

Guernsey’s is unique among auction houses in that it will sell just about anything. It’s major sales include the largest auction in history (the contents of the ocean liner S.S. United States), the entire contents of New York’s Tavern on the Green restaurant, the first auction of artwork from the Soviet Union during the Cold War, two John F Kennedy auctions, a necklace and matching earrings worn by Princess Diana that benefited UNICEF, along with sales involving famous music and sports personalities such as The Beatles and Mickey Mantle.

The small company also devises creative ways to stage these auctions. For example, the Mickey Mantle sale of his baseball memorabilia was held at Madison Square Garden. The sale of the archives of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate was held at the MGM Grand resort in Las Vegas.

“We get involved in very interesting projects of all descriptions,” Ettinger said.

One of nine Muzo emeralds that will be sold as one lotAnthony DeMarco

The company also managed the sale of the Atocha in 2014, which was added to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most valuable shipwreck ever recovered. This is how Ettinger and his team first met Marcial de Gomar and his family. Over a couple of years they worked out a deal to sell his personal collection of gems and other valuables.

“He was brought in as a consultant by Mel Fisher when Fisher discovered emeralds in the wreck of the Atocha. We had the Atocha auction that’s how we eventually got to meet Manuel. Once we got friendly with him he revealed that he had been increasingly giving thought to selling his personal collection, which he viewed as among the rarest, finest emeralds in the world gathered by him over his long lifetime; but also to include stones that he acquired from fisher that came from the Atocha,” Ettinger said.

Ettinger said that when his did the research, he discovered there was no record of another major emerald-specific auction ever held.

“It is almost exclusively an emerald auction and as such it has never happened before,” he said. “First, I couldn’t believe it. You mean in all the world’s auctions no one has ever held an auction of emeralds? To the best of our research we couldn’t find such an auction and we go back a long way. It just makes it all the more exciting.”

The auction will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday (tomorrow) at the Americas Society building, 680 Park Ave., New York, a venue that Ettinger says is appropriate for this type of sale. Bidding online is being held through liveauctioneers.com

“It once was the Rockefeller Mansion. It is now home to the Americas Society, which promotes the culture of all of the Americas, but with a concentration in South America. Since these stones are from South America it seems like a perfect fit,” he said.

Many of the lots are being held without a reserve, which is rare at major auctions of valuable property. Ettinger says this makes it more interesting and democratic.

“Some of the most expensive items we’ve ever sold have been sold without a reserve and it actually serves as an incentive for people to bid but it does open the door to potential bargains,” he said. “I’ve seen surprises on both ends—surprises when items bring more than estimate and surprises when they bring less than the estimate.

He added, “It makes for an exciting event and sleepless nights.”

A public preview is currently being held and will run through tomorrow, up until the start of the sale.

I'm a one-time daily newspaper reporter who now writes about high-end jewelry, the finest timepieces and luxury. My first magazine job was with a design and architecture trade publication where I received a first-hand education and appreciation of how good, innovative design...